Steve Goldstein

The combination of the breakup of the Soviet Union, the continued existence of its massive nuclear arsenal, and economic problems in Russia and other former Soviet states has led numerous observers to express alarm over the possibility that Russian nuclear weapons might end up in the hands of terrorist groups or other nations. In the following viewpoint, Steve Goldstein, a Moscow-based journalist, cites numerous experts who fear that the risks of nuclear proliferation have increased in recent years due to economic and political upheavals in Russia and other former Soviet republics, including Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. Security at Russian nuclear facilities has been impaired, Goldstein writes, and impoverished Russian officials might be tempted to smuggle nuclear materials out of the country or sell their nuclear expertise...